The Met Gala red carpet was a sea of tasteful black and white, pearls and Camellia rosettes, with style tributes to Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel and his love of cats. But what about the many after-parties, where guests were able to let their hair down and let loose? As always, there were some standout second looks – these were our favourites.
Keke Palmer in Sergio Hudson
Keke is giving 90s Barbie in this mini dress and pink coat.
Paloma Elsesser in Chrishabana
Model Paloma hosted the “Apres Met” after-party wearing this quite incredible multi-cross pearl and crystal chain top. There were a lot of these types of Chanel chain and embellishment tributes for the after-parties (see: Rita Ora), but this one wins, hands down.
Lizzo wearing Paco Rabanne
Lizzo wearing custom Chanel for the Met Gala proper was perfection, including as a statement against the famously fatphobic Karl Lagerfeld. The musician performed inside the gala, before changing into this sparkling Paco Rabanne gold metal mesh outfit.
Kendall Jenner in vintage Chanel
There was a lot of vintage Chanel on the red carpet – and while vintage is always a good idea, it did all start to blur towards the end (except for Dua Lipa’s Claudia Schiffer original, one of my faves of the night). But this spring 1994 Chanel look on Kendall is a bold and unexpected statement – and feels like it could have been designed today.
Elle Fanning in Vivienne Westwood
I preferred her romantic bridal look for the gala itself, which felt like it was more relaxed and fun than her after-party dress. The fascinator is a little ‘girl goes to the races for the first time’, but the Vivienne Westwood corseted black gown with sequin detailing is simple, gorgeous.
Dua Lipa in Chanel
If anyone can pull off Chanel bike pants, it's Dua Lipa. Very 90s Chanel, and a perfect contrast from her main, very pretty, Met Gala dress.
Chloe Fineman in Wiederhoeft
As a longtime fan of ‘Chloe is Crazy’ on Instagram and her work on SNL, I was disappointed that her Vogue livestream co-hosting was such an awkward, in a bad way, flop. Let’s focus on the positives: her ensembles for both the main event and the after-party were delightful, with rosette details on each and a matching Judith Lieber cat purse with each.
Harley Viera-Newton in Chanel
Plenty of people hit up the after-parties without having attended the Met Gala - like DJ and designer Harley, who opted for a Chanel dress from the year she was born. Adorable!
Coco Rocha in vintage Karl Lagerfeld and Lùchen
The model actually had two after-party looks, but this looked the most fun. The frothy, layered pink coat is by New York-brand Lùchen, worn over a classic Karl look from the archives.
Emily Ratajkowski
EmRata shared her two after-party looks before her red carpet outfit, which says a lot (or nothing at all, however you want to interpret it!). But her sequin very-mini dress screams ‘get me to the dance floor’.